SEAL-SHOOTING. 67 



coming on them to windward is out of the question ; for on 

 the scent warning that the enemy is dangerously near, they 

 shuffle from the rocks into the safety of the deep. Although 

 long aware of threatened danger, they are often too lethargic 

 to flee until it really becomes imminent ; but this laziness 

 never tempts them to be so foolhardy as to risk their life. 



A dead calm is, of course, best for seal- shooting from a 

 boat, but a favourable breeze is an advantage, should the shoal 

 be sunning themselves on the rocks ; in which case, when 

 afloat, always try to land and stalk from the shore. If from 

 the direction of the wind or other obstacles this be imprac- 

 ticable, the shore chance from a boat is frequently an indiffer- 

 ent one, but the shot at the head when they come up after 

 the first dive is almost certain to be point-blank. 



A boat for seals should be light, and should draw as little 

 water as possible. For this purpose, and to prevent rocking, 

 the build must be broad, short, and flat. Frequently you have 

 to pole through shallows only a few inches deep, while now 

 and then dragging your shallop over an isthmus may be the 

 only means of securing an excellent chance. As dead seals 

 always lie on their backs at the bottom, their white bellies 

 may be seen at a considerable depth. A strong cord with very 

 large hooks and lead attached is, therefore, a most useful 

 appendage to fish them up. 



The monster ocean seals were rare in Loch-na-Gaul, but I 

 have detected one or two about the entrance of the loch- 

 always, however, shy of trusting themselves within bullet- 

 range, and shunning the parts of the coast or the rocks where 

 they might possibly be surprised. In the outer Hebrides these 

 prodigious creatures are tame enough, and roam along the 

 shores, the tyrants of these wild seas. I saw the skin of one, 

 shot off the Colonsay coast by a nephew of the then Lord 

 Justice-General, which weighed 30 stone. It unexpectedly 

 elevated half its body out of the water, close to the young 

 sportsman, when he shot it through the lungs. 



